I had it timed to seven minutes flat.

“Mr. Montgomery?” she answered.

“Hey, I hate to do this to you, but I just got a call—”

“I’ll be there in a second! I’m still dressed and everything!” My twenty-one-year-old nanny promptly hung up on me.

I threw on my flight suit and booted up, hit the bathroom, tossed a few granola bars and a Monster into my bag, and opened the door just as Sarah reached the threshold.

“It’s coming down out there!” she said by way of greeting.

“Yes. Thank you. I’m sorry for calling so late.” I hated calling her, forcing her to drop what she was doing.

“It’s what you pay me for! Now go save people.” She waved me off and headed for the living room.

I tossed my rain gear on and ran down the steps.

Exactly seven minutes after I got the call, we took off from the coast guard station with Goodwin as my copilot, Moreno as my mechanic, and Garrett as our rescue swimmer.

As we headed out over the water, into wind and rain, my mind cleared of Morgan, her dead boyfriend, and even Fin, leaving only the bird, the weather, and the mission.

“Time to save some lives,” I said over the com, keeping our tradition.

And we did.

…

The skyline blushed with impending sunrise as I parked my Land Cruiser in the driveway.

Long. Fucking. Night.

The rain had stopped around midnight, right around the time we’d returned from the rescue, three extra passengers heavy. We’d barely gotten the small family off their even smaller boat in time. It had gone down just after Garrett had hauled the father on board.

Their bad day had a happy ending: two living parents, one living teenage boy.

I trudged up the steps, weariness pulling at every muscle in my body. If I got to sleep in the next fifteen minutes, I could get a solid three hours before Fin woke up.

I woke Sarah on the couch and sent her home, then headed toward the kitchen in search of water.

The refrigerator was stocked, and I took a cold one from the second shelf and closed the door with my hip, already twisting the top open.

My cell phone rang from my back pocket, and I paused mid-drink to yank it free, swallowing and lowering the bottle when I saw who it was.

“Claire?”

“Hey!” Her voice was barely audible with background party noise. “What are you doing?”

I glanced at the clock. “It’s five a.m., so I figured I’d sleep while I can.”

“Oh! Late night?” A door shut, and the background noise dropped exponentially.

“Obviously.” I leaned back against the kitchen counter. “Look, I just got home from work, and I know you didn’t call to talk to Fin, so what’s up?” My voice was as gentle as I could make it, but I was fucking exhausted.